Fence-post brace.



110.855.624. PATENTED JUNE 4, 1907. A. H. FBTZBR.

'FENGE POST BRAGE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 6, 1906.

Uni-re ALLEN H. FETZER, OF GALION, OHIO.

FENCE-POST BRACE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 4, 1907.

Application filed November 6, 1906. Serial No. 342,212.

To (all 1071,0111 it nutg concern:

Be it known that I, ALLEN H. FETZER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Galion, in the county of Crawford and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fence-Post Braces; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to new and useful improvements in braces and more particularly to that class adapted to be used in connection with fence construction, and my object is to provide a device of this class which will be cheap, durable and convenient and one that will securely brace the corner posts of the fence.

Other objects and advantages will be hereinafter referred to and more particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings which are made a part of this application, Figure 1 is a perspective view of my improved brace showing the same applied to use upon a section of fence. Fig. 2 is a detail elevation of the lower end of one of the brace members showing a portion of the same broken away, and, Fig. 3 is an edge elevation thereof.

Referring to the drawings in which similar reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout theseveral views, 1 indicates a post such as is commonly employed in fence construction and in the present instance represents a corner post and 2 indicates the usual form of anchor post employed in connection with a brace to prevent the corner post from moving out of vertical alinement, the usual form of fence wires 3 being secured to the corner postand in order to thoroughly brace said post and prevent the same from being pulled out of alinement by the tension of the fence wires, I have provided my improved brace which consists of an arm 4, the upper end 5 of which is tapered and adapted to enter a notch 6 adjacent the upper end of the post 1.

The arm 4, when disposed in position, is downwardly inclined and provided with a slot 7 at its lower end to receive the strands of a brace wire 8. An auxiliary arm 9 is cmployedin connection with the post 2, the lower end 10 of said arm being tapered and adapted to engage a notch 11 adjacent the lower end of the post 2, the auxiliary arm being directed upwardly and at an angle to the post 2 and having a slot 12 at its upper end to receive the strands of the brace wire 8.

In order to prevent the brace wires from becoming broken or entering the material forming the arms 4 and 9, I have provided the free ends of each of said arms with a bearing bolt 13, said bolts being disposed laterally through the free ends of said arms and intersecting the slots therein so that when the brace wires are directed into said slots they will engage and bear upon said bolts. The brace wire 8 is preferably constructed of one continuous piece of wire and in applying the same in position upon the post and brace arms, one strand of the wire is first disposed into engagement with the slots in the arms and the free ends thereof directed around the post thence through the slots in the arms and brought together at a point between the opposed ends of the arms and after the same has been drawn taut the loose ends 14 of the wire are secured together in any preferred manner as by twisting the same around the opposite section of the brace wire as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawing.

The posts are provided with notches 15 in which is seated that portion of the brace wire surrounding the posts thereby preventing the wire from slipping in either direction when tension is exerted there against. The point of engagement of the brace wire 8 with the post 1 is above the lower end of the brace arm 4 and by forming the brace arms 4 and 9 of such a length that the free ends thereof would overlap each other when brought together, the tension of the brace wire at each side of the free ends of the arms 4 and 9 will be equal when said arms are at a certain angle from the longitudinal axis of their respective posts which in this instance is substantially and by so arranging the arms and brace wire, it will be seen that the arms will be held against casual pivotal movement at their juncture with the post. If for any reason it should become necessary to decrease the length of the brace wire 8, the arm 4 is removed from position by driving the tapered end 5 laterally from the notch 6,

after which the twisted ends 14 of the wire 8 are unwound and the length of the brace wire shortened the required distance after which the ends 14 are again secured together. The slotted end of the arm 4 is then engaged with the brace wire 8 and the upper end of the arm forced downwardly until the tapered end 5 is again seated in the notch 6 thereby providing a ready means for increas ing the bracing capacity of the wire 8.

It will now be seen that I have provided a very cheap durable and economical device for bracing the end posts and one wherein any of the parts may be readily replaced should they become broken.

What I claim is:

In a brace of the class described the combination with a fence post having a notch adjacent its upper end and. an anchor post having a notch adjacent its lower end; of a pair of oppositely disposed brace arms, one end of each of which is tapered and adapted to enter the notch in its respective post, said arms being at an angle of substantially 45 from the longitudinal axis of the post and having notches in their free ends, said arms being of sullicient length to overlap each other when the free ends thereof are brought together, a brace wire constructed of one continuous piece of metal and doubled upon itself to form loops, the free ends of the wire being united at a point between the free ends of said arms by twisting the ends of the wire together, a loop engaging the fence post at a point above the horizontal plane of the lower end of the arm on said post, the opposite loop engaging the anchor post adjacent its up er end, said brace wire extending in a straig t line from the fence post to the anchor post.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ALLEN H. FETZER. Witnesses:

EFFIE ELY, C. H. HENKEL. 

